WNU Editor: Lucy Ash focuses on the Russian military's use of deception .... but it also plays a critical part in Russian foreign policy and in state media .... especially now when Moscow is facing the western world by itself. But the real masters at "maskirovka" .... without question .... are the people who work in this building.

WNU Editor: Fortunately .... my relatives in Ukraine are still far away from the fighting .... but the impact of the war is affecting everyone .... including my friends and family. Everyone knows someone who has been killed or wounded, and everyone definitely knows someone who is in the war fighting. But what worries me is that this conflict now has all the ingredients of becoming far worse ... that the current horrific humanitarian crisis can explode with millions of refugees instead of just one million. In short .... the worst case scenario. The above video where Judy Woodruff talks to Shaun Walker from The Guardian on the depressing situation in eastern Ukraine is a must see.

WNU Editor: Peace/truce talks have begun in Minsk .... but I am not optimistic. The fighting in eastern Ukraine is now happening on multiple fronts .... the only thing that is not being used are helicopter gunships and fighter bombers/attack aircraft.

* U.S. claims chemical engineer Abu Malik was killed on January 24
* Malik had worked at Muthanna - an Iraqi factory which produced sarin gas
* The long-time jihadist joined Al-Qaeda in 2005 and ISIS more recently
* Fears the militants are trying to expand their chemical weapons capability
* Anonymous defence source says Malik was 'gathering lots of equipment'

WNU Editor: That is a lot of Jihadists going to a conflict zone ... but my gut is telling me that the numbers are probably higher .... much higher. Al Qaeda was able to attract over 20,000 supporters when they were in Afghanistan before 9/11 .... but the Islamic State has the benefits of controlling a lot of territory, a slick and effective communications network over the internet, and the support of affiliated cells in other countries.They are also located in the center of the Middle East with multiple points of entry to enter their territory .... Al Qaeda was basically in southern Afghanistan near Kandahar where the only way to get to them was through Pakistan.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) shakes hands with a military personnel during his visit to a military site at Darya area, on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of army day, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on August 1, 2013. REUTERS-SANA-Handout via Reuters

WNU Editor: A depressing read .... because Jonathan Tepperman just validates (what most of us already know) who Syrian President Assad is. Bottom line .... he is someone who is going to stay as long as possible in his "bunker" .... and he will not leave willingly even when his own supporters are telling him to leave or to step aside for someone else.

WNU Editor: He is the U.S. official that must sign-off on their release .... and it looks for some of these released detainees ... especially the Taliban 5 that were released for Bergdahl .... it gave him pause. But the bottom line is that he did sign-off on their release .... instead of resigning on a matter of principle ... and it looks like he now has some doubts.

The Pentagon is working on force structure plans for continuing to advice and assist Afghan forces well past the 2014 drawdown date previously set between NATO and the Kabul government. US Army. (US Army)

From Wikipedia: The Red Beret (retitled Paratrooper for the US release) is a 1953 British war film directed by Terence Young and starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. It is the fictitious story about an American who enlists in the British Parachute Regiment in 1940, claiming to be a Canadian. It is notable as the first film made by Irving Allen's and Albert R. Broccoli's Warwick Films, with many of the crew later working on various films for Warwick Films and Broccoli's Eon Productions. It is partly based on the 1950 non-fiction book with the same title, about the Parachute Regiment and its first operation, Operation Biting, in February 1942, written by Hilary Saint George Saunders.

The lead character was originally intended to be British, but when Richard Todd, who had been a paratrooper during the war, turned down the role because he felt it was "too far fetched",[2] Albert R. Broccoli offered it to the American Alan Ladd and the story was rewritten by Ladd's personal screenwriter Richard Maibaum to fit him in.

The growing Chinese-Russian alliance is one of the most important geopolitical developments of the century.

WNU Editor: This is not a case of China helping Russia .... this is a case where both countries have mutual interests and one in which both parties have made the decision to support each other economically and politically. Russia has a new market for its resources in China .... China has a new and stable source for its energy needs and resources .... this is a win-win for both countries. The political consequences of this arrangement are also significant .... China does not have many friends in Asia .... in fact, it has border disputes with everyone .... everyone but Russia. Russia has also been politically isolated .... but not with China. The world has pushed these two countries together .... and they are going to be consequences from this development.

In regards to Ukraine .... to put everything in context .... the EU and the U.S. have promised a few billion dollars to aid the Kiev government .... money with strings attached and only doled out over a period of time. Russia and China have recently signed energy agreements that total in the hundreds of billions of dollars (with hundreds of billions more pending) .... and it is being dispersed right now to set up the necessary infrastructure to make it happen. With such dynamics at play ... it is easy to predict who will be the victor when this is all finished.

WNU Editor: The war is now focused on the battle for Debaltseve. Apparently Ukrainian forces are now surrounded, and they have been told to surrender. Artillery strikes on civilian areas are also continuing .... heavily casualties are being reported. All peace/truce talks have now been suspended. The above AP video report shows how violent and destructive the conflict has become.

WNU Editor: Everyone is now hinting that this war is going to go on for a long time. What also does not help the war effort is the reluctance of Iraq and of the U.S. in providing the means for the anti-Islamic State forces (such as the Kurds) to take the fight to the Islamic State .... Victorious Kurds ask White House for promised weapons (Bloomberg).

WNU Editor: I presume that the sticking point with Iran is the same sticking point that has been with Iran since day one .... inspections and verifications. There are some places that Iran has made very clear that they do not want inspectors to be poking around. In the meantime .... U.S. Senate panel advances Iran sanctions bill (Reuters).

WNU Editor: Everyone is waiting for a response from the Islamic State right now .... Jordan, Japan Await News on Fate of IS Hostages (VOA). I know that the Islamic State has never executed a hostage on Friday .... but after that ....anything is possible.

“Everyone is still with the happy talk that somehow sequestration is going to go away.”

WNU Editor: The Pentagon's budget is going to be released this Monday, but already the politics is being played out on national security. The White House will approve a larger Pentagon budget if (and only if) the spending caps are removed by Congress on entitlement programs. The Pentagon in turn operates on the assumption that they will get what they want even though the law will (most likely) not be changed to remove their spending caps. From an outsider looking in .... everyone appears to be operating in an environment of denial. They expect to get what they want .... but the process to get what you will need will not be changed to accommodate your desires. The resulting gridlock then becomes predictable .... everything gets frozen with everyone looking at each other and wondering who will make the first move ... and no one will.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, one of the most powerful Saudis ever to serve in Riyadh—and Washington—has just been ousted by the new king.

WNU Editor: The new Saudi King has sacked many of the key men who have been responsible for Saudi Arabia's national security for years. I for one have will not share a tear for the departure of someone like Prince Bandar bin Sultan .... especially when I heard about this last year.

WNU Editor: The U.S. does not only have the greatest number of aircraft .... but the quality/avionics is tops in the world. Still .... it makes you wonder if Pentagon concerns on losing their edge in air superiority are justified.

About Me

I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.